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   Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 1:33 PM
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   Friday, August 28, 2026 at 4:31 PM

If your olive oil stings your throat

That peppery catch at the back of your throat has a name. It is a compound called oleocanthal, and a researcher identified it in 2005 after noticing that fresh olive oil stung in exactly the same place as liquid ibuprofen. It turned out not to be a coincidence. Oleocanthal acts on the same COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes that ibuprofen does. Be careful how far you take that. Around 50 g of extra virgin oil gives you roughly 10 mg of oleocanthal, which is about a tenth of a low dose of ibuprofen. It is the same mechanism at a much smaller scale. It is not a painkiller and it does not replace one. What to buy: - Extra virgin only: Refined and light olive oils have had the polyphenols stripped out, and oleocanthal is one of them. - Early harvest, or look for a harvest date on the bottle: Oleocanthal ranges from 0.2 to 498 mg per kg depending on the oil, and the highest levels come from olives picked early while still green. - Dark glass, and use it within a few months of opening: Light and air degrade the polyphenols. - Trust the sting: It is the most reliable at-home test there is. A peppery, slightly bitter oil that makes you cough is a high-polyphenol oil. A smooth, buttery one is not. Go and taste the bottle you already own.